He tells Iron City Rocks: "We're playing 70 to 80 shows every year, and that gives us a limited amount of time to really sit down and focus on writing and everything.

"But this year we've been talking about making a real effort to just get in the studio and start writing and put songs together. And when we get the time to finalise all this stuff, we're hopeful that we'll have new product out next year."

With such high demand for Y&T live shows, Meniketti admits it can be difficult to get motivated to create new music. But the buzz of seeing a record come together means they will eventually return to the studio.

He adds: "We love playing live, and, quite frankly, I'd be happy just playing live all the time. But getting in there, being creative and getting that side of your brain working again is pretty inspiring. It's pretty amazing what it does just for your headspace, if nothing else."